Cop Killer Sees Bigfoot at Barbecue

Background:

Ricky Ray Malone was convicted of first degree murder in Oklahoma and sentenced to death.The day after Christmas 2003, he shot patrol Officer Nikky J. Green to death when the officer pulled him over in a car to arrest him for manufacturing methamphetamines.In 2007 he appealed his conviction.

During Malone’s initial trial, the jury was wrongly instructed on the defense of voluntary intoxication.The state asserted that the mistake was harmless because the evidence clearly showed that defendant “knew what he was doing and deliberately chose to shoot and kill the victim.”

So, how about this:

Part of Malone’s case hinged on whether he knew what he was doing or was too impaired to know.

So consider this note in the case:

“Malone described how methamphetamine made him moody and paranoid and that he sometimes heard voices and thought he saw things that weren’t there–like when he would “hear” people in his attic and when he “saw Bigfoot” while he was out cooking at the lake.”

Was hearing or seeing voices and Bigfoot an effect of the drugs?Is it possible that he heard ghosts and saw Bigfoot (reasonable doubt)?Does it change your mind about whether he knew what he was doing when he pulled the trigger on the officer?Does it matter since a death resulted?

Outcome:

Malone’s conviction was upheld, but his sentence was reversed and remanded to district court for resentencing.

Trooper Green, age 35 when he passed, is survived by a wife and three daughters.